Mosque-Madrassa of Umm Sultan Sha’aban Cairo

With its towering red-and-white-striped facade and entrance trimmed with a triangular arrangement of muqarnas vaulting, this complex is more interesting on the outside than in. But it is worth entering briefly, through a long hallway, to see the interior of the building oriented away from the street, to align with Mecca. It was built in 1369 by Khawand Baraka, the mother of the reigning Mamluk, after completing the hajj. Ask at the Blue Mosque for the keys.